Notorious shoplifter banned from Kensington

Anthony Bennett, whose exploits as a shoplifter in Toronto’s Chinatown and Kensington Market made him the target of vigilante justice two years ago, has been banned from the area for three years.

Justice William Bassel issued the ban in agreement with a proposal put forward by the Crown and defence. Close to 60 shop owners had signed a letter of support asking that Mr. Bennett, 52, be barred from entering the neighbourhood bound by Spadina, College, Beverly and Bathurst streets, said Chi-Kun Shi, the lawyer for Jeff Ng, whose Jungle Fruit Mart in Kensington Market was one of the shoplifter’s targets.

In addition to the ban, Bennett was given a three-year suspended sentence for stealing plants from Jungle Fruit Mart in 2010. Ms. Shi said she was “gratified to see the court had done its job,” although “it was unusual to see people be banished from certain areas in the city.” She added that she hoped it would start a dialogue between shop owners and the police.

“The police do not have enough presence on the street, they don’t patrol on foot,” she said, explaining that a police presence helps prevent thieves from acting with impunity.

Bennett, who has 43 theft convictions, came to the public’s attention in 2009 when he was captured and tied down by Lucky Moose shop owner David Chen while waiting for police to respond to the scene.

Mr. Chen was charged with forcible confinement and assault, but was later acquitted, becoming a hero to store owners. In a separate sentencing hearing Monday, Bennett was sentenced to four months in jail for a 2009 theft from a Spadina Avenue store.